


gourmandises

by superlyns



Category: Super Junior, Super Junior-M
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 15:34:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2115324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superlyns/pseuds/superlyns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>happy, sungmin had decided, was moving to seoul with his roommate-turned-best friend in tow to open up a bakery. this is how the first year goes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	gourmandises

  
The September evening brought with it a chill that ran through the bones. Ryeowook blew warm breath onto his hands as he looked at the apartment block ahead of him. It loomed over the small, narrow roads, squat and eye-catching. The paint on the outside walls was peeling; now a dirty off-white colour from the sun and winds. Sungmin would hate it, Ryeowook thinks gloomily, thrusting his fists deep into the pockets of  his jacket, but he was tired and cold after traipsing around the few empty properties of Seoul and unwilling to look through any more.

The city was overcrowded as well. He adds it to the list of why Seoul was a bad idea, and there was nothing wrong with Mokpo, as he had first suggested to Sungmin. Small, quiet towns were almost foreign and there were beaches. He hasn’t been to a beach in nearly a decade. Mokpo would be nicer, so much nicer but Sungmin had refused.

The estate agent is a small, middle-aged lady with a bright smile and a cheerful, yellow suit that almost hurts Ryeowook’s eyes as it’s so stark against the dull building.

“Kim Ryeowook?” she asks when he draws up with her. “I’m Kim Mihyun. We’ll start now, if that’s alright?.”

She buzzes them into the block. The middle is quite small, he thinks at first. There was a lift and a flight of stairs directly opposite them, and then two doors each on the side. It’s neat and plain but nothing special, Ryeowook thinks, but he smiles and follows her to the lift anyway.

“What brings you to Seoul, then?” she asks, when she’s pressed the button for the third floor.

“Business venture. Me and my friend want to open up a bakery.”

She raises her eyebrows at that. It was tough times and he was well aware that a bakery was a gamble that might not pay off well - but at least their parents had promised them help if anything were to ever go wrong, as much as Ryeowook hated the idea of having to rely on them beyond his university years. “That’s nice. Whereabouts?”

“It’s a few blocks from here.You know next to the Lotte Mart in Hongdae? It used to be a cafe but it’s been empty for months and the owner was desperate to sell it off.”

There was a ding. The lift doors open and the lady bustles out, pulling a ring of keys out of her pocket. They jangled loudly as she selected the right one and opened the door to the left. “After you, sir,” she says and Ryeowook steps in, almost instantly wrinkling his nose.

There was a musty stench hanging over the place. Underneath it was a certain smell that Ryeowook couldn’t quite place - a mixture of dust, damp and lemon-scented wipes. The wallpaper was probably cream at one point, but had faded over the years it had been abandoned, before the old owners finally decided to sell it off, years after they had made a permanent move to Thailand.

“We’ll start in the kitchen?” Kim Mihyun says, and Ryeowook takes another quick glance around the hall, before following her into it. It’s clean at least, and spacious. The counters have been polished, the fridge silent and looming, the cupboards empty. He nosies around it for a bit - it’s big enough, he thinks, and should do. Most days they would spend out of home anyway, and this was enough.

The rest of the tour is unsurprising: the bathroom is decent, the store cupboard is fine and the master bedroom is okay. The smaller bedroom is much smaller than the pictures online had led him to believe, though. Apart from the bed pushed against the corner and a small wardrobe, there wouldn’t be room for anything else. Ryeowook makes a mental note of it, before they end up back in the hallway.

“I take it you understand the procedures if you want to buy the apartment?” Mihyun asks, when Ryeowook is pulling his shoes back on.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. Thank you,” he bows quickly to her and she nods at him.

As soon as he gets outside, he phones Sungmin, who picks up by the second ring, and he can easily imagine Sungmin sitting by the phone for the past hour or so.

“Hi, are you ok? Is it good? What’s it like?” Sungmin says all in one breath. Ryeowook can hear the faint creak of bedsprings in the background as if Sungmin just made himself comfortable.

“It’s nice, it’s cheap, there’s a regular bus nearby, the kitchen’s really nice and the sight’s okay.”

“Cons?”

“One of the bedrooms is really small and it smells funny,” Ryeowook says. He pulls his jacket around him tighter with one hand. “But you’ll love it. Promise.”

“I’m trusting your judgement but if it turns out awful-” Sungmin’s voice is light but warning enough.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll make you five Belgian buns a day. But you’re only going to get fatter than you already are,” he teases, sticking his arm out for an approaching taxi.

“Shut up,” Sungmin mutters. “Are you going to ask how my day went?”

“How did your day go, Sungmin?” Ryeowook asks promptly, eyeing the taxi slowing down in front of him. It stops at the kerbside immediately in front of him

“The man doing the shop sign said he’ll finish it by the weekend and I’ve got some friends agreeing to help us move out. Heechul says he can talk to an accountant friend of his and persuade him to give us a discount to sort out our books and taxes as well. We’re all set.”

“So it went perfectly,” Ryeowook says, opening the car door and bundling himself in. “Wait a second- To the train station, please,” he requests, cupping his hand over his phone, before putting it back. “I’ll see you later, hyung?”

“OK.” Sungmin hangs up first and Ryeowook slips his phone back into his pocket. Today would be a good day, he decides, watching the flash of early afternoon Seoul going by. He’d get the first train back to Ilsan, meet Sungmin in time for dinner at his parent’s house, finish ordering new kitchen utensils online. Maybe he could break out the new bottle of wine Sungmin had bought over the weekend as well and finish at least half of it before Sungmin returned and complained.

 

-

 

Gourmandises was tucked between a Lotte Mart and a small nail parlour run by a Vietnamese couple. It had previously been a cafe and they had decided to leave some of the small tables, chairs and a loveseat around the sides rather than having an empty space. Ryeowook had fallen in love with the kitchen and Sungmin had grudgingly rearranged their budget to add in a new oven and a bread maker. When Sungmin had graduated with a degree in economics, his father had handed him his savings account card and told him to be happy. Happy, he had decided, was moving to Seoul with his roommate-turned-best friend in tow to open up a bakery, which had been Ryeowook’s sole wish for the past seven years and Sungmin’s for the past four.

Sungmin had felt guilty, of course, because his father’s plans for him were to take over his small business empire but Sungjin had always been more business-minded and preferred the rise and fall of the stock markets. Sungmin hated pressured and decisions he couldn’t sleep on for a few nights, but his father had smiled, as calm and gentle as he had always been.

Ryeowook had no such qualms, and within half a year they were preparing to open the bakery. Leaflets had been distributed and an ad placed in the newspaper to advertise half price deals for the first two days of opening.

They had been expecting a small group of interested locals. They hadn’t been expecting a line snaking it’s way around the shop. Ryeowook curls his fingers around Sungmin’s sleeves when he first sees it before plastering on a bright smile and waving at the first two in line.

“Hi, I’m Ryeowook and I’m the chef. What can I serve you today?” he says. Sungmin sends him a sidelong glance before smiling himself

 

-

 

Halfway through the day, Ryeowook washes his hands and hangs his apron on the hook just inside the door. “I’m going for a walk. And more sugar,” he says before leaving with a quick wave.

Sungmin waves back at him absent-mindedly, his pen hovering over the open accounts book, totalling up the amount they had made so far that day. He was meticulous to a fault, if nothing else and he preferred having a written record. Ryeowook had always laughed at him about it and insisted that it was silly, but Sungmin remained stubborn.

The mid-afternoon period, he realizes, was always the quietest. After the initial burst from the office crowd on their lunch break and then the gaggle of high school kids out for lunch and a fill of either coffee or cake, it would become a thin steady trickle of mostly elderly people.

Currently the cafe is empty. It’s cold outside and Ryeowook had thoughtfully closed the door behind him when he left. Mostly to keep the kitchen warm but Sungmin liked to pretend that he came first. He doesn’t feel too bad about the emptiness at the moment since there’s hardly anyone walking outside. If it still remained empty in a few hours, Sungmin would begin to worry but only then.

For the meantime though, he closes the book and stashes it in the cupboard underneath the till. He picks up the cleaning cloth and rubs it along the countertop.  
The truth is, he’s bored. He blows a breath out and stows the cloth underneath the till as well.

He hears the tinkle of the wind chimes and footsteps. When he glances up there’s a man standing in the doorway, jacket only half-zipped up, baseball hat tilted slightly askew, slightly breathless. Sungmin frowns at him momentarily before he remembers his place and smiles brightly instead.

“Do you-may I use the bathroom?” the man asks.

The edge of Sunman’s smile disappears slightly. “Just to your left,” he says, and the man nods a quick thank you, weaves through the tables and chairs and ducks into the bathroom, closing the door with a force Sungmin thought was quite unnecessary. Sungmin frowns at it again, before stretching luxuriously. The man had left the door wide open and the breeze was sweeping in, sending the hairs on the back of his neck prickling up. He comes out from behind the counter and moves to close it.

When he reaches the door, he pauses to watch a small gaggle of girls walking past slowly, looking around quickly. One of them points him out to the others, and they turn to him. Two girls, after some giggling and nudging, step forward and Sungmin opens the door warily for them.

“Have you seen Siwon?” asks the one with curly hair.

Sungmin blinks at them. “Who?”

“He’s a tall man, wearing a baseball cap, leather jacket, black jeans.”

“I-” Sungmin starts and then quickly changes tack. “Yeah, he ran past a few minutes ago. You just missed him.”

“Thank you,” the girl bows quickly, rushing out the door. Sungmin blinks at her back whilst she talks to the group waiting outside. After deciding that, no, they probably weren’t going to come in, he closes the door firmly and waves quickly to the girls when one of them glances in his direction. She smiles at him, sunnily bright, before the group head off.

He hears the creak of a door. Glancing back, the man, Siwon, is out, looking relatively sheepish. He scuffed his shoes against the floor. “Thank you,” he says. His voice is warm and rich, and Sungmin takes a second to look him over. Tall, good looking and almost exactly Sungmin’s type.

“Would you like a free muffin? You seem shaken up,” he says sympathetically.

The man looks hesitant for a second. His eyes flick from Sungmin to the window on his right and then back to Sungmin again. He licks his lips before smiling at him. Sungmin smiles back almost instantly, feeling frozen in place. “No, I really need to head out,” he says apologetically. “I have to get back to work.”

“Oh,” Sungmin says. He drops his hands and moves out of the way for him. “Well, if you’re ever around here again, it’ll be on the house.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he says, smile warm. “This cafe wasn’t here last year, was it?”

“Me and my friend opened up recently. We’ve only been here for a little while.”

Siwon takes a glance around, at the empty tables in the corner, at the clean counter, the menu hanging on the wall behind it and then back at Sungmin. He seems torn before he finally says quickly, “Actually, I think I would like that muffin, if you don’t mind?”

Sungmin smiles brightly at him. in his mind, he could picture Ryeowook shaking his head in despair and mouthing ‘shameless’ at him, but he was gay in Seoul and he would take what he could get.

“What do you do for a living?” he asks when he’s making a simple espresso with a single sachet of sweetener. His tastes, Sungmin thinks, are quite awful because he has never understood the fascination for espressos himself. He preferred lattes and cappuccinos, something much sweeter on the tongue.

Siwon has settled himself down in the table closest to the counter. He’d shucked off his jacket to reveal a plain white t-shirt. Sungmin’s eyes widen slightly because he had suddenly become more attractive. Siwon stares at him closely and Sungmin fumbles with the saucer he had put a muffin on and flushes with embarrassment. “You mean you don’t know-,” Siwon begins then stops abruptly to clear his throat. “Entertainment industry,” he says.

“Must be exciting.” Sungmin places the muffin (large, double white chocolate chip and raspberry, Ryeowook’s very best and the most expensive) onto a tray along with the coffee and places it in front of Siwon.

“It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Are you-” Siwon takes another quick glance around, “alright with sitting and chatting? I wouldn’t want to take you away from your work.”

Sungmin feels the heat spreading across his body. “I’m fine with it,” he says and he curls his toes when Siwon smiles widely at him.

 

-

 

“I can’t believe that you spent your time flirting with a customer,” Ryeowook says much later, when they’re closing up. Siwon had finished his coffee, promising to come back again because of both the muffin and the nice owner, and left a few minutes before Ryeowook returned.

“He was nice,” Sungmin sticks his tongue out and Ryeowook shakes his head, muttering ‘shameless’ under his breath, just loud enough for Sungmin to hear. “You’d have done the same.”

“I would have made him pay for it at least!”

“Be quiet, you,” Sungmin bats at Ryeowook’s shoulder before pulling him for a quick hug. “He’s cute.”

“Shameless. You’re absolutely shameless. I don’t know why I like you,” Ryeowook sniffs disapprovingly into Sungmin’s coat.

 

-

 

“I am not watching this.”

Sungmin leaves Ryeowook on his own in the living-room, comfortably wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate in his hand and his eyes glued to the TV screen. His favorite drama is on air in about five minutes and he can barely hide his excitement. He doesn’t even answer to Sungmin’s remark, having totally abandoned the idea of watching a drama with him one day because Sungmin thinks they’re “ridiculous and repetitive love stories made for fifteen years old teenagers who cling to their pillows when the male lead kisses the evil step-sister of the female lead” - to which Ryeowook usually answers by throwing a pillow at him. So Sungmin retreats to his bedroom with the intent of trying to come up with a new advertising strategy for their bakery. It’s been a few months since they’ve opened now and Sungmin thinks it’s time they start advertising it a bit more. Sungmin opens up a new PowerPoint document, stretches his back and lets his fingers hover over his laptop’s keyboard.

He gives up about twenty minutes later, when the only thing he’s managed to write is the name of their bakery in 30pt Helvetica on the very first slide. Oh, and he’s changed the slides’ theme too. He reluctantly gets out of his bedroom and goes to the living-room where Ryeowook’s too engrossed in his drama to hear him arriving. Flopping down on the couch, Sungmin frowns at the TV screen. He scoots closer to Ryeowook and desperately tries to grab a bit of the blanket to cover his own body. He settles for only covering up half of his left shoulder and as he shifts one more time to be perfectly comfortable and maybe have a little nap, a voice coming out from the TV makes him sit very still. He knows that voice. His eyes quickly dart to the TV screen and-

“Oh my God, I know this guy.”

“Shhhhhh, that’s the scene I’ve been waiting on for weeks,” Ryeowook hits Sungmin lightly on the arm.

“But I’m telling you that-”, Ryeowook pinches his arm this time, making him yelp, “I _know_ him.”

Ryeowook waits until the scene ends to answer Sungmin.

“Did you really just say that you know Choi Siwon?” Ryeowook raises his eyebrows as he scrutinizes Sungmin’s face.

“I don’t know his full name but I’m pretty sure I’ve met the guy who’s just confessed his feelings on screen, yeah. He’s the one I flirted with at the cafe the other day,” Sungmin says with embarrassment, cheeks flushing as he puts the pieces of the puzzle back together in his mind. The guy - Choi Siwon, Sungmin corrects himself- _did_ mention that he worked in the entertainment industry but Sungmin just hadn’t really paid attention.

Ryeowook stays very still.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about it,” Ryeowook sniffs.

“Well I didn’t know it was him?” Sungmin protests but Ryeowook doesn’t hear any of it and grabs a cushion instead and for a second Sungmin thinks he’s going to get hit. He doesn’t because Ryeowook just wraps his arms tightly around the cushion and pouts. “I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal out of this,” Sungmin adds.

“It’s a really big deal, you _flirted_ with Choi Siwon,” Ryeowook deadpans.

“I still don’t see what’s so great about him, I mean, he doesn’t seem like such a great actor?” Sungmin almost immediately regrets saying that when he catches the dark look Ryeowook gives him. “I haven’t seen much but-”

“You have to get him to give you Yoona’s phone number. And then you give it to me,” Ryeowook says excitedly, suddenly changing topic. Sungmin can only agree because Ryeowook engages in a monologue about how he cannot believe  that Choi Siwon stood in the middle of their bakery and what was he even doing at the time to miss this and how it’s totally incredible that Sungmin got his phone number and he really should ask about Yoona’s phone number sometimes soon.

 

-

 

“I really think that we need another person serving,” Ryeowook asks. It’s still early morning and Sungmin is only half-awake as they’re getting ready to leave for the bakery. “We can’t do everything with just us two.”

Sungmin blinks at him. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

"Because you’re not me,” Ryeowook says smugly, folding his arms by the front door. He was already ready, warm underneath a large puffa jacket whilst waiting for Sungmin to put his shoes on.“How do we find someone? Should we put up a sign in the front window?"

Sungmin finally stuffs his feet into his shoes and follows Ryeowook out. "We need to talk to Kibum first," he says, duly ignoring the face that Ryeowook instantly pulls when he mentions Kibum, the accountant for the past few months that Ryeowook had developed an intense aversion against. Sungmin had declared early on that it was merely jealousy - Kibum being only a few months older than Ryeowook and everything that Ryeowook wasn’t, which resulted in Ryeowook pinching his arm and then refusing to speak to him for half an hour. "We're not exactly raking in the profits yet."

"If we have a helping hand we'd be able to make more and sell more. Win-win. We're still managing to pay off everything well."

"That's because of the savings account. I don't want to try anything risky yet."

Ryeowook rolls his eyes. "Minimum wage then?"

Sungmin purses his lips and says nothing, but he knows all too well that standing against Ryeowook for extended periods of time was near impossible. Ryeowook, when he put his mind to it, had all the compromise of a bulldozer flattening everything in his path with a bright smile. He knows it’ll only be a matter of time before he succumbs. It might be a good idea - lunchtimes especially had become hectic since the business crowd from the office buildings nearby had started becoming more frequent, as well as a small crowd of university students who took the lunchtime to work outside of school, but admitting defeat to Ryeowook so early on meant that Ryeowook would never let him live it down. Ryeowook split most of his time cooking in the back kitchen and hovering by the tills with a bright smile and a look of longing as he watched the food he had made so lovingly being taken away. Sungmin took charge of the coffee machines since Ryeowook loathed them with a passion and had never quite understood the mechanisms for it. They had fallen into a routine by now. Be at the bakery by 7, be open by 7.30, close promptly at 8pm. Ryeowook would bake steadfastly until the early afternoon as he had discovered (or merely stumbled upon, as Sungmin would correct him) that the smell of baking tended to draw more customers in and kept them there for slightly longer. Freshly baked food was almost a novelty in Seoul.

“I really do think it’ll be a good idea, though,” Ryeowook says when they draw up besides the bus stop. It's always quiet this early in the morning and they have the bus stop to themselves. "Can't we?"

Sungmin tries not to look. He knows almost instantly that Ryeowook will be pouting, eyes wide and watery as he stared at Sungmin. He knows full well that Ryeowook likes to milk his looks for what he can and so he averts his eyes and trains them on a spot across the road, where the pavement met the wall of the small charity shop opposite. "We'll see," he says and can already imagine Ryeowook's look of abject and overdramatic disappointment. "We'll see."

"Huh," Ryeowook mutters and they lapse into silence. One of the good things about having known Ryeowook since the first day of university, was that they had gotten used to each other's company and oftentimes ended up quietly sitting next to each other while they carried on with their work. Had it been anyone else, Sungmin thinks, it would have been uncomfortable.

 

-

 

Three days later, when all Sungmin wants to do is curl up in the back of the shop with some food and some Tylenol, he decides that having somebody else would be a good idea. His head has been pounding for the past few hours and he couldn't go back home without leaving Ryeowook to simultaneously deal with the customers and the kitchen, something that Sungmin wouldn't allow, especially as someone had ordered a birthday cake for a child's birthday and Ryeowook had planned on spending a few hours on that.  
As soon as he cut two slices of tiramisu and presented them to the couple seated by the windows, he returns back to the counter, takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. He stays like that for a few seconds before he feels a touch on his shoulder. When he opens it, Ryeowook is standing beside him, looking guilty.

"You should sit down," Ryeowook says sympathetically. "I'm leaving the rest of the normal stuff for tomorrow morning."

Sungmin's about to shake his head when he's hit by a sudden burst of sharp pain. "I-" he says slowly. "Will. Don't burn what you're doing."

"You take me for an amateur." Ryeowook pats his shoulder before going back into the kitchen. His apron, Sungmin thinks with mild annoyance, is still clean despite handling ingredients since this morning. Sungmin had gone into the kitchen once so far, to get new filter paper for the coffee machine and had come out of it with flour down his front. He hobbles over to the nearest table next to the wall, and takes the seat looking out. It's been a quiet morning so far and for that he's grateful. It's beginning to become a struggle to keep his eyes open but he knows he can't. It'd be bad business, after all, and he had always prided himself on being as professional as was expected from him.

There's the tinkling of the wind chimes and Sungmin instantly looks up from the table at the door, then freezes when he realizes it's Siwon. Looking tired with another baseball cap pulled low and a scarf around his neck pulled up so it covered most of his lower face, but Sungmin had searched him on the internet for long enough that he was almost instantly recognizable. He looks awful, Sungmin thinks before he stands up quickly to get back behind the counter. Siwon notices him and smiles brightly.

“Hi,” he says, leaning over the counter. “I’m guessing that I don’t get freebies today.”

“Probably not.” His headache is still there but it’s faded slightly into the background – because this was Choi Siwon, drama star, famous according to Ryeowook, Google and his brother’s girlfriend, in front of him.

“Can I have a medium-” Siwon pauses for a brief second to look at the menu hanging behind Sungmin’s head. “Soy latte with a shot of espresso. Or two shots. And that muffin from last time.'

"It was only that day's special feature," Sungmin says apologetically. "You can have today's special offer, though.”

“Which is?”

“Chapssaeltteok.” Sungmin ducks down slightly to quickly scan the counter. The chapssaeltteok, ones that Ryeowook had made that morning and had almost burnt, were arranged proudly in the middle of the display on a circular silver platter Sungmin had procured from his grandmother’s list of unwanted items she wanted to pawn off to her grandson.

“Sure thing. How much?” Siwon asks.

“The latte is 6000 won, the chapssaeltteok is 4500 won.”

Siwon digs into his pocket. His scarf slips down slightly to reveal the bottom of his face as he pulls out his wallet and rummages through it for the necessary cash. He smiles when he hands over the money and it takes Sungmin a moment too long to take the money and open the till. “Eat in or take out?”

“In.”

His head still hurts but slightly less. As he turns to the coffee machine, he sneak a glance through the window in the kitchen door at Ryeowook bent over the table, carefully icing a cake with painstaking precision. Sungmin was just glad that Ryeowook wouldn’t look up anytime soon. The chances of Ryeowook fainting in excitement at Choi Siwon - who was still an awful actor, no matter his looks, Sungmin reminds himself - standing in their bakery with his hands in his pockets, looking completely relaxed amidst the usual quiet backdrop was high.

When he’s finished the latte and placed two pieces of chapssaelttok onto a plate, he looks up to see Siwon staring at him closely. When Siwon notices, he doesn't look embarrassed or abashed. He takes the tray with a quick nod and turns to look for a table. The couple has left by now and only a few others were left, primarily sitting closer to the windows on the left. Sungmin guesses he wouldn't willingly sit so close to where he could be seen, at least not while dressed like that. Sungmin watches him surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye while pretending to busy himself with rearranging the collection of baguettes sitting in the wicker basket besides the counter. Siwon by this time has sat down on the single couch in the far corner, pulled out his phone and was scrolling through it, the scarf pulled down somewhat but the cap lowered further.

Sungmin goes back to stand behind the counter and leans his head against it. It would be nice to talk to Siwon - and maybe get Yoona’s phone number for Ryeowook but that was probably bottom of the list at the moment. After taking a quick glance around the bakery and at the few people seated, he turns and enters the kitchen.

Ryeowook had thrown open the window to air the kitchen out but there was still the smell of freshly baked cakes hanging in the air. Ryeowook is still hunched over the table, his sleeves pulled up and a look of fierce determination upon his face as he set miniature marzipan figures around the edges of the cake. He had spent hours complaining about the price of them only the previous night but Sungmin could easily tell that he adored them. He heads straight for the cupboard where he takes the pack of Tylenol from earlier and pours a glass of water from the tap. When he passes by the table, Ryeowook shoots him a stony glare that Sungmin knows is Ryeowook preemptive warning not to take any of the cake decoration arranged separately into their bowls. Sungmin ignores him and heads back out of the kitchen to the shopfront.

“Do you,” is the first thing he hears, as Siwon’s already leaning across the counter, his coffee left behind on the table. “Do deliveries?”

Sungmin blinks at him, not quite understanding at first.

“It’s just that some of the people I work with don’t really cope very well without a coffee fix and most of the cafe’s near where we’re stationed don’t do deliveries,” Siwon explains. Sungmin, glass in one hand, pills in the other, is more mesmerized by the way his hands move than anything else. “And we’d pay extra for deliveries, of course.”

“Can I just check first?” Sungmin asks. When Siwon nods, he puts the glass under the countertop, pockets the pills and heads straight back into the kitchen.

Ryeowook doesn’t even glance up when he hears the door opening again. “You’re spending too much time in here. Are there even any customers at all?”

“Do we do deliveries? Someone’s asking if we can deliver to his colleagues.”

Ryeowook straightens up, rubbing the back of his forearm against his forehead. “Of course not. We’re not some kind of takeaway joint. It’d say on the front if we did.”

“Um,” Sungmin says, faltering. Siwon is quite nice (despite his bad acting) and he’d hate to disappoint a customer so early on in the bakery’s life. “It’s Choi Siwon?”

Ryeowook freezes. “I’ll deliver it.”

He starts making his way to the door, cake completely forgotten, and Sungmin jumps in between it. Ryeowook, for all his deceiving looks was honestly quite terrifying sometimes. When he raises his eyebrow and folds his arms expectantly, Sungmin wilts.

“I-” he begins. Ryeowook looks unimpressed. “I don’t think that would be best. I’ll deal with it. Or else he’ll-”

Ryeowook pushes past him and Sungmin follows behind unhappily. Siwon looks up from his phone when he sees the two of them appearing from behind. “Hello?” he hazards, looking at Sungmin who was half-pouting, half-glowering at the floor in embarrassment.

Ryeowook smiles widely, instantly on the charm offensive. “Hi, Sungmin here tells me that you were enquiring about deliveries, yes? We haven’t really thought of it before and after a quick _managerial_ meeting,” his smile sharpens slightly when he nods at Sungmin, “we decided it really would be a good idea to help our customers escape certain inconveniences, because we do love our customers and we’re intent on proving our gratitude to them and making life easier for them, as good citizens. And since you’re our first customer to ask, we’ll do the delivery free and offer a 10% discount as well for your purchases for today. Is that fine with you, sir?”

“Absolutely fine,” Siwon says and Sungmin squirms.

“Wonderful! I’ll delegate the task of taking your order and doing the delivery to Sungmin, in that case, who’ll be only more than delighted to do it, won’t you, hyung?” There’s a pointed stare at Sungmin and he nods instantly, especially when Ryeowook takes his hand in his own and squeezes. “I’ll be back in the kitchen, then.”

He turns and disappears after a much more gentle squeeze of Sungmin’s hands. Sungmin resists the urge to sigh and explain Ryeowook wasn’t always as disarmingly bright as he seemed to be, but Siwon doesn’t seem too fazed at not being allowed to get a word in edgeways.

“Do you wish to order now or later?” Sungmin asks instead.

“Later. Your friend’s very-”

“Please don’t say it,” Sungmin interrupts. “He’s usually not like that. It’s because you’re a _star_.”

Siwon winces slightly. “Oh, you found out, then?”

“Only because he made me watch a drama with him. Otherwise, I would never have known.”

“Sorry about that. I thought it’d be easier not to mention it.”

“The screaming fans get annoying, huh?”

Siwon grins at him. “Very much so. I’m going to finish my coffee before it gets too cold,” he says and Sungmin mentally curses for almost forgetting about that. “You should stop by and talk if you have time. Or does your boss not really endorse that?”

“Bo- Ryeowook isn’t my boss. We’re more partners than anything. He makes cakes and I do...everything else, I suppose.”

“You won’t get fired for talking to customers then?”

“I won’t fire myself,” Sungmin says, slightly irritated at the thought of Ryeowook being his boss and irritated at Siwon for thinking so. “So no, I wouldn’t be.”

“Excellent!” And with an unnecessarily enthusiastic wave, Siwon went back to his seat. Sungmin watches him for a few seconds, before taking the glass of water he’d left underneath the counter and striding back into the kitchen. Ryeowook is bent back over the cake again with an icing bag clutched in his hands. He straightens up.

“I just talked to Choi Siwon,” he says, sounding awestruck. “ _Choi Siwon._

“You’re kind of embarrassing.” Sungmin pushes past him. “Really embarrassing actually.”

“Yeah, well, if you had a life outside of this bakery and yours truly, you would be falling at his feet,” Ryeowook huffs. “Unfortunately, you’re really ignorant sometimes.”

“You were so cheesy though. What was that even about?”

“It was Choi Siwon. You’re going to have to go home and get the car right now, you know.”

“What?” Sungmin pauses over the sink.

“Well, to deliver it, you’re going to need a car. You can use the bus but I don’t think that’ll help you much,” Ryeowook goes back to his icing but Sungmin can tell from the curve of his mouth that he’s smug. He sounds it too.

“You,” Sungmin  says. “Are absolutely awful.”

“Yeah, well, you still haven’t gotten my Yoona’s number.”

“ _And_ desperate,” Sungmin snaps on his way out.

 

-

 

Siwon’s ‘workplace’ turns out to be a set in a closed-off sideroad. He has to push past a small group of people clustered together, half-dangling over the barriers that were positioned on both of the roads. Clutching the tray of coffee cups tightly to his chest, he carefully maneuvered himself lengthwise across the barrier, until he was besides the burly security guard standing. He stared impassively at Sungmin.

“These are for Choi Siwon,” he says.

“Are you another one from his fanclub?” the guard asks, sounding utterly bored. “Because there’s already been a delivery and I am not a personal courier, kid.”

“Actually, he ordered it for his colleagues,” Sungmin corrects. “He wanted a delivery.”

The guard raises his eyebrows. “Oh, really?”

“Yes. He’s - Siwon?” he says, startled slightly by the body that pops up and wraps his arm around the guard. There’s a commotion behind him Sungmin as the crowd squeeze in together and surge forward.

“Hi. Sungmin’s here because I asked him, is that alright?” he asks. When the security guard looks hesitant for a moment, Siwon grins widely and claps him on the back. “Thanks, hyung! You’re the best.”

Deftly, he edges the guard out of the way and lifts up the barrier. There’s screaming from behind as Sungmin ducks underneath it and the security guard steps out in front of the barrier, effectively stopping the crowd from trailing in after Sungmin.

“Sorry,” Siwon says apologetically as he takes the tray off Sungmin’s hands. “Sometimes they get excited.”

“I can tell. Are they all _your_ fans?” Sungmin asks, slightly breathless and slightly in awe. The biggest celebrity he had ever seen was Na Hoona in concert, disregarding the musicals he had attended with his father. The audience had been much older and quieter, and had left quietly once it was finished. The fans here, crushed together into a swarm of bodies, were nothing like the few that he had seen before, and he found it strange - celebrity culture was more Ryeowook’s thing.

Siwon laughs at that. “Oh, no. No, you know BoA? She’s guesting on the episode we’re filming now. Some of her fans found out and managed to get here although they’re not supposed to. How much was all that, again?”

“187,000 won. With the discount, it’s 168,300 won.”

“A lot cheaper than Starbucks,” Siwon says, pulling out his wallet with one hand. "And nicer people working there."

Sungmin's brain short-circuits slightly and he almost drops the money.

 

-

 

They set an ad on one of the windows of their shop reading “Help needed” and it’s not long before the first applications come in.

The applications are easy to deal with. Ryeowook cheerfully throws half away for _'not even bothering, is this a joke?’_ , and they sort through what’s remaining until they're left with only four applications. They arrange the interviews for the weekend mornings when the bakery is at its most quietest.

“What,” Sungmin mutters after the third candidate had left and they had half an hour to relax before the last. “Did you even write in that ad?”

“Nothing!” Ryeowook denies which was true. His ad had been perfectly ordinary - required: _waiter/barista for small bakery required, experience not necessary_ printed neatly with the address and contact information, before being placed into the window and a local newspaper.

“Why are they all nuts?” Sungmin asks. They’re back behind the counter as Sungmin pours out coffee for the both of them. “I’d rather we didn’t get anyone than get them.”

“Well,” Ryeowook say, in an attempt to be nice. “They weren’t all nuts.”

“Oh, really.” Sungmin sets Ryeowook’s coffee on the counter and slides it over to him. “Then please tell me which one of them you’d trust with a cup of hot water?”

“Uh, pass?”

“No, really, I’m not sure this would be a good idea. At all. I’d rather do everything single-handedly than hire them.”

Candidate Number 4 is a university student obviously looking for a source of income. When he comes into the bakery, Sungmin instantly recognizes him as one of the students who sat in the corner with a few slices of cake as he worked diligently.

The sad thing is he’s a lot taller than both of them and Ryeowook, who often held minor grudges for a few minutes before forgetting them, instantly chalks it up as one con of hiring him. He gets through the interview with ease and seems relaxed and comfortable (law students, Ryeowook thinks bitterly), until they’re nearing the end and Ryeowook leans forward.

“What is your opinion of speaking to customers in Na’avi?”

“Uh,” Kyuhyun falters looking helplessly at Sungmin who simply shrugs. Their first candidate had insisted upon demonstrating his proficiency of Na’avi to them. “Not to speak it unless you’re confident that they’ll be able to understand and speak back in said language? And you don’t butcher it, of course.”

Sungmin puts a mental tick next to his name and chooses the next one. “You see a kitten and a puppy playing together. Is the correct response to scream that the apocalypse is here, as one of our previous applicants said they would while making small chat, or to think it’s cute.”

Kyuhyun blinks. “The latter.”

“And what do you think about cheesecake?”

“It’s delicious?” Kyuhyun hazards, looking even more apprehensive.

“Great, you’ve got the job!” Ryeowook says throwing his hands in the air. “I know you said you don’t have experience but after the last three candidates, it really doesn’t matter.”

“Bad, huh?”

Sungmin stares at him with wide eyes. “The worst.”

 

-

 

“Hi Jongwoon, how are you today?”

“It’s _Yesung_ ,” Jongwoon hisses between his teeth, quickly checking his surroundings to see whether anyone had heard Kyuhyun call him by his real name.

Jongwoon had done his best throughout his years on the internet to hide his real name and be known exclusively as Yesung. Many people thought it was stupid that his nickname meant ‘vocal chords of an artist’ when really, all he did was post pictures of himself on the internet. _They're not just pictures_ , Jongwoon always added whenever someone pointed it out to him, focusing all his attention on his cellphone again within the next few seconds. Having been an ullzzang for two years now, Jongwoon knew he could count on his most ardent followers to back him up anyway. It was exactly these followers, 1,750,000 on Twitter give or take and countless other subscribers of his Naver blog, who came regularly to the bakery with the hope of bumping into him. Ever since he’d discovered the place on one of his random strolls across the city and that he’d tweeted about it, admirers were flowing in, eager to discover that place where Jongwoon took so many selcas. On most days, the fans coming in didn’t get the chance to bump into their favorite internet celebrity but when they did, a small line sometimes formed in front of the bakery and Kyuhyun had to work with the constant chatter of fans crowding about Jongwoon’s table ringing in his ears.

“Whatever. What can I serve you today?” Kyuhyun says, mildly annoyed. After a few weeks of working at the bakery, he had managed to settle in and become an integral part of the bakery. He only worked part time shifts in between his classes and even then, he spent a large proportion of his time studying or playing on his laptop, once he had deemed them both easy enough pushovers to bring it in and charge it by the wall. Ryeowook never really seemed to care about what happened outside the kitchen doors and although Sungmin technically hadn’t approved it yet but, he assured Ryeowook, he hadn’t disapproved of it either so it was fine. The regulars had come to know him as perfectly pleasant, most days, but sometimes he simply didn’t have the patience to care.

“I'm gonna try the raisin danish,” Jongwoon answers without looking up from his phone. He has the time to post another couple of tweets before Kyuhyun finishes to proceed his order, ending with a disinterested “Bye Jongwoon”.

Kyuhyun's face lights up a few minutes later when a young man with fiery orange hair and long legs clad in ripped jeans enters the bakery. His sudden enthusiasm is slightly dampened when Zhou Mi walks straight up to Jongwoon's table without even sparing a glance at Kyuhyun who’s standing behind the counter with his best welcoming smile. Zhou Mi taps on Jongwoon’s shoulder, wide smile spreading on his face as Kyuhyun’s fades away to his usual default blank face. Kyuhyun tries not to stare too much and decides to go wipe the tables near Jongwoon’s, because they suddenly seem in serious need of some cleaning. It’s definitely not his best plan and it proves to be a total failure when, despite his best attempts at furiously wiping the tables while sneaking surreptitious glances at Zhou Mi, Zhou Mi doesn’t notice anything and carries on chatting with Jongwoon. Kyuhyun gives up and goes back to his spot being the counter.

 

-

 

Kyuhyun decides that Zhou Mi is definitely unable to read hints and that he must take action. It’s a spur of the moment decision, taken somewhere in between the moment Zhou Mi enters the bakery and the moment he reaches the counter. Kyuhyun flinches a bit when he notices that Zhou Mi’s hair is back to black and that he’s wearing glasses - this isn’t the time to get distracted, Kyuhyun thinks as he clears his throat and takes Zhou Mi’s order.

“Would you like something with your tea?” Kyuhyun asks after Zhou Mi has placed his usual order for a cup of tea - Darjeeling today.

“No, thank you,” Zhou Mi answers politely.

“Are you sure?” Kyuhyun answers in his most polite yet pressing tone, the one he’d spent hours perfecting and the one he knew would always make customers think again and, in most cases, order something else. Kyuhyun thought he was getting pretty good at this whole waiter thing, for someone who’d reluctantly taken the job. “We’ve got a chocolate and salted caramel cake as today’s special and there are fresh out of the oven croissants, if you don’t want something too sweet.” Kyuhyun flashes the complementary smile to his tone.

“Um, I’m okay really, thank you.” Zhou Mi says with haste.

Kyuhyun’s smile falters. This is the perfect moment to take action.

“Enough of this. I have been serving you pretty much each time you come here and you’ve never ordered anything else besides tea. Today, I’m buying you something.”

Without missing a beat, Kyuhyun reached towards the chocolate and salted caramel cake and cut a piece. He placed it on the tray alongside Zhou Mi’s tea.

“That’d be 4800 won, please.” He said without looking up, suddenly embarrassed about his move. He was starting to wonder what he was even expecting in response, acting in such a childish way. In front of him, Zhou Mi didn’t budge.

“I’m going to accept this under one condition,” Zhou Mi starts and there’s the hint of a grin on his lips, something Kyuhyun has never really seen on him before - not that he’d stared, no, definitely not. Kyuhyun can only oblige.

 

When Kyuhyun’s shift ends and he finds himself with Zhou Mi’s camera between his hands, he decides that today’s plan was a very good plan. He gets to stare at Zhou Mi as much as he wants and the best is: it’s actually what’s asked from him and he’ll get credited for it on Zhou Mi’s blog. Not that being credited as a photographer for amateur fashion pictures will exactly be useful for his future career as a lawyer but well.

 

-

 

Kyuhyun somehow becomes Zhou Mi’s assigned photographer throughout the next few weeks and it’s not long before Kyuhyun has to take action again. He’s not complaining about his photographer position, far from that because God knows he likes it despite Zhou Mi’s obsession with taking pictures of his horrid shoes or taking twenty different pictures when the first one was okay to Kyuhyun’s eyes. He wants something more, just to remind Zhou Mi that he’s more than a face half-hidden by a camera.

“Hi Zhou Mi!” Kyuhyun says and before he can even think about what he’d planned on saying next, a girl with long straight black glossy hair wearing high heels and a colorful dress entered the shop, quickly making her way towards Zhou Mi and hooking her arm through his. Kyuhyun stares at their linked arms and then at her face.

“Sorry, it was my mother. You know how she gets whenever she calls me,” the girl says cheerfully. “What did you order?”

“Jasmine tea and whatever Kyuhyun will choose for me today,” Zhou Mi answers with a smile while Kyuhyun looks away. He would never admit it but it had sort of became usual for him to add something on Zhou Mi’s tray despite him not asking. Sometimes it was a scone, others a cupcake or a strawberry tart and Kyuhyun always ignored Zhou Mi’s protests, claiming instead that Zhou Mi needed to eat because those skinny knees didn’t look okay. But today, Kyuhyun decides not to add anything, just because his plans had been ruined. The girl places her order as well - a caramel latte and a slice of fig and apricot bread - and Kyuhyun asks for the money, not even motioning towards the passionfruit cheesecake he had planned on giving Zhou Mi today. He avoids Zhou Mi’s eyes as he hands his credit card and quickly makes his way to the kitchen after they leave the counter to sit at a table.

“This is terrible,” Kyuhyun says to Ryeowook who’s busy putting on matcha buttercream on his matcha green tea cupcakes, the latest addition to the bakery’s menu. “Zhou Mi has a girlfriend.” Ryeowook stops dead in his tracks and sets the piping bag aside.

“Are you sure about that? How do you know?” Ryeowook asks very calmly, scrutinizing Kyuhyun’s face.

“Well, he just came in with some gorgeous girl wearing high heels and probably some peach-flavored gloss and she was clinging onto him and they just looked really close,” Kyuhyun explains.

“Let me see what this is all about,” Ryeowook answers as he takes a tray of finished cupcakes to put them in the shop window.

“Why, what do you want to see?” Kyuhyun asks miserably as he slides his back against the wall, ending up sitting on the kitchen floor, the perfect incarnation of despair. “As far as I know, you’re not exactly an expert when it comes to girls.”

Ryeowook casts him a look and Kyuhyun shuts his mouth very quickly.

“How could I have possibly known that Tiffany was engaged to the heir of Hyundai? It’s not as if it was written across her face when she asked for my cellphone number to, and I’m quoting her on face, be able to contact me at all times?”

“She wanted it to be able to _harass_ you at all times about how she hated lime frosting and didn’t want orange pearls to decorate the cupcakes she’d ordered.”

“Still, I couldn’t know she had ordered cupcakes here because she was benchmarking bakeries to find the most suitable one for her wedding. She should have told it straight away,” Ryeowook sniffs as he opens the door with one arm and leaves the kitchen.

“Oh no, it was just perfect that you were totally ignorant about it. Especially when you decided to subtly add little hearts on the sample three-tier and she told you it was just perfect and exactly what she had in mind for her wedding,” Kyuhyun shouts as the door closes behind Ryeowook, leaving him alone.

He’s alone for only a few minutes before the kitchen door swings open again.

“You should have told me she was _this_ gorgeous,” Ryeowook whines as he comes back to the kitchen, empty tray between his hands.

Kyuhyun stares at him, mouth wide-open, “This isn’t really what I expected you to say. Now Zhou Mi has a girlfriend and she’s gorgeous.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about Zhou Mi. I am 98% sure he’s gay,” Ryeowook says, heart still fluttering ridiculously.

“You were 95% sure that Krystal was well in her twenties and then she turned out to be 18 years old, Ryeowook. How do you expect me to believe you,” Kyuhyun says listlessly.

Ryeowook winces at the thought. Krystal had never once looked eighteen years old to him: she’d walked in the bakery in a skirt suit and Ryeowook had assumed she was one of these sexy powerful businesswomen or at least an assistant to one from the way she oozed with confidence. Maybe Ryeowook watched too many dramas or movies but still, to him, there was no way she could be a high school student, absolutely no way. Ryeowook had turned that she was a few weeks into his mindless crush when, for a change, Krystal didn’t come to the coffee on a late Saturday evening but on a Thursday morning. She was wearing a high school uniform, and Ryeowook immediately recognized it as the one from the high school nearby. It took a few seconds for his brain to compute the information before he realized: high school uniform. High school uniform.

“I couldn’t know either,” Ryeowook protests quietly.

“You should have known with all the high school girls already crushing on you. You’re not so much older than them, you know.”

“I don’t even want to know what you’re insinuating,” Ryeowook replies, “you came here to talk about Zhou Mi and wallow in your own misery, not to tell me the story of my love life. Also, may I remind you that you’re working and therefore you should be at your place behind the counter?”

Ryeowook grabs the piping bag again, prepared to finish icing the last two trays of cupcakes and Kyuhyun stands up, ready to leave the kitchen.

“Wait!” Ryeowook calls. “Do you have Zhou Mi’s number?”

“What do you need it for?” Kyuhyun frowns.

“I- um,” Ryeowook blushes and Kyuhyun narrows his eyes. “I want to ask him something...abouthatgirl,” Ryeowook mumbles.

“I will be glad to give you his number if you plan on getting that girl away from him. Please, do your worst. Or maybe not, who knows, she might be engaged to the heir of Lotte,” Kyuhyun cackles, lowering his head to avoid the dishcloth Ryeowook throws at him.

 

-

 

**from: ryeowook**   
_hi zhou mi~ this is ryeowook. do you happen to know if the friend you were with at the bakery today has a boyfriend? what’s her name, by the way?_

**from: zhou mi**   
_hi ryeowook! um, i’m not really sure. her name’s song qian but people usually call her victoria here._

“Aaaaaah,” Ryeowook groans, throwing his cellphone on the couch.

“What’s wrong?” Sungmin asks from the bathroom.

“Nothing, just failing miserably in my love life as usual. Don’t mind me,” Ryeowook whimpers as his phone buzzes a second time.

**from: zhou mi**   
_why are you asking me that? are you interested in her? ^___^_

Ryeowook throws his cellphone back on the couch, putting a cushion on top of it for good measure. There. He doesn’t have to face the embarrassment again. Ryeowook gets up and walks towards the bathroom, peeking his head inside the room.

“Where are you going again?”

“On a date,” Sungmin answers uncomfortably.

“Who with?” Ryeowook lays his shoulder on the doorframe.

“Um, Choi Siwon.” Sungmin keeps his gaze focused on the mirror as he pretends to adjust his tie, knowing full well that Ryeowook was probably glowering at his back.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you would have pestered me about Yoona’s phone number again,” Sungmin explains, adjusting his tie for the last time.

“Have a great date! Don’t forget about Yoona’s-” Sungmin hears Ryeowook say as he closes the door of their apartment behind him.

 

-

 

 

The door’s wind chimes tinkle when Song Qian enters the bakery and all but runs towards Zhou Mi’s table, not even sparing a glance at Kyuhyun who’s standing next to it, engaged in a conversation with him.

“Guess what,” Song Qian says as she flashes the shiny ring on her left hand, “I’m getting married.”

“Hello to you too, Song Qian. Don’t bother, I’ll just go back behind the counter seeing as you’re probably going to chatter in Mandarin for the next three hours or so,” Kyuhyun says, turning back on his heels.

“With Calvin?” Zhou Mi asks as he takes Song Qian’s hand in his, carefully examining the ring.

“Yes, of course. Who else, really?” Song Qian says, feigning indignation as she shakes Zhou Mi’s hand away.

“I don’t know. You seemed to have quite a handful of admirers here and another dozen or two back in China. You could have already been married and I wouldn’t even know,” Zhou Mi chuckles.

“Well, I won’t deny this but of course I chose to marry the richest one, who do you think I am?” Song Qian replies, joining in with Zhou Mi’s laughter.

“Hi Song Qian,” Ryeowook chirps in, suddenly appearing next to their table. He seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to knowing when Song Qian visited the bakery and always made sure to greet her when she did. “How have you been doing?” Ryeowook follows in Mandarin. He’d been practicing it again lately and despite Sungmin’s countless dry remarks he’d denied that it was because of his crush on Song Qian - he just loved the language, nothing else.

“Ah Ryeowook, you’ve came at the right time, I’ve got something to ask you!” Song Qian says, clapping her hands in excitement. “I’m getting married and I’m going to need pastries, lots of them. Would you be available for that?”

Ryeowook feels his heart drop. Despite his best attempts at trying to find out over the past few months, Zhou Mi had never really been able to tell him whether or not she was seeing someone. At least he was getting a clear answer right now.

“I’ll have to check with Sungmin since he’s the one managing the schedule for this kind of stuff, I’ll let you know,” Ryeowook swallows with difficulty. Song Qian thanks him profusely before she turns to Zhou Mi and they begin chattering quickly in Mandarin. Ryeowook turns and heads straight for the kitchen, blinking furiously to keep himself from crying. Kyuhyun follows after him and awkwardly pats Ryeowook’s shoulder, before Ryeowook spins and wraps his arms tightly around him.

“This is just like with Tiffany all over again,” Ryeowook whines in Kyuhyun’s shirt, who has to refrain from telling him _told you so_ over and over again.

“Hyung, let me go,” Kyuhyun says instead. “I’m supposed to be watching over Henry right now.”

“Don’t lie,” Ryeowook mumbles, “you’d been chatting with Zhou Mi for ten minutes before Song Qian arrived. I should just hire Henry to replace you.”

“It’s not my fault my boyfriend has established his headquarters here. There’s nothing I can do about that and I really don’t think you’d approve of me kicking out a customer. Also, do I have to remind you that Henry sucks at Korean? And that probably no-one makes cappuccinos as good as mine?” Kyuhyun gently reminds him.

“Why is my life like this? I should have never opened this bakery, everything’s gone downhill ever since.”

“Don’t you have a blind-date tomorrow? The one Sunyoung’s organized for you? What’s the girl’s name again? Hyesung?”

“It’s Hyelim and she’s a dancer and she looks really nice from the pictures I’ve seen of her and of course, I’m already expecting her to tell me tomorrow that she’s in fact a man or already secretly married or leaving abroad for five years in two days. There’s no way this can go well, it’s me we’re talking about.”

“Don’t be so hopeless,” Kyuhyun says, “now if you’ll excuse me, I can’t breathe and I think Henry just dropped an entire tray of rhubarb tartlets and we should probably go help him.”

This is more than enough for Ryeowook to visibly brighten. They both go to help Henry clean up the mess he’s made. Had it been someone else, Ryeowook would have probably deemed this - and the other small mistakes he’d made over his the first half of trial period - as a reason not to hire him but Henry was fluent in English and they really could use that with the growing influx of tourists coming to the bakery. Henry could barely speak Korean and his Mandarin wasn’t any better but he managed to make himself understood in a weird mix of the three, with copious amount of sign language and pointing at the menu. Besides, Sungmin and Ryeowook really needed another waiter, fluent in English or not. The bakery was starting to become more well-known, thanks to a mix of good advertising and word-of-mouth through Kyuhyun’s surprisingly large social circle, Yesung’s faithful following, Siwon’s more dedicated fans and Zhou Mi’s internet connections in the blogosphere.

Ryeowook hardly left the kitchen these days though he mostly blamed it upon seeing too many happy couples in one place and being constantly reminded of his own sad tale of a single man, and Sungmin spent equal portions of his time working at the cash register and running around fixing Henry’s mistakes. Nobody, he found with a slight twinge of annoyance, really minded Henry’s near constant mix-ups as long as he smiled brightly and acted like a clueless foreigner. Occasionally, he brought in his violin after rehearsals at orchestra and practiced in the corner of the bakery - which, he assured Ryeowook when he had asked about the noise, that even if Sungmin hadn’t technically approved, neither had he disapproved of it. (That, Sungmin had guessed, was taught to him by Kyuhyun and that Kyuhyun was indeed a bad influence upon innocent people.)

 

 

  
 **epilogue**  
  
“Dad wants to know if you’re happy,” Sungjin asks over the phone. “Are you?”  
  
Sungmin casts a glance at his surroundings. Ryeowook had come out from the kitchen to cool down for a while and he and Kyuhyun were slowly but diligently teaching Henry their very best pick-up lines that were guaranteed to work out, despite Sungmin pointing out reasonably that Ryeowook was still single and Kyuhyun was dating a man who he’d woo’ed only by bribing him with pastries, and so their lines obviously wouldn’t work quite as well. Zhou Mi and Yesung were sitting on the loveseat together, discussing cameras while Zhou Mi texted Song Qian. Their new assistant, Krystal, hired even while Ryeowook hid in the bathroom and almost cried of shame and only came out after Sungmin promised to coax Yoona’s number out of Siwon, was serving Sunyoung.  
  
Ryeowook turns to leave Henry and Kyuhyun and catches Sungmin’s eye, before pulling a face at him.  
  
Sungmin grins and answers wholeheartedly, “Yeah. Yeah, I truly am.” 

**Author's Note:**

> co-written with the lovely heartquakers. <3


End file.
